Tropic..
Every boat is a tradeoff.. if you are that pre-occupied w/ encapsulated keels than you should avoid them .. Personally I have never thot of a Sabre - an excellent boat, as the offshore type but there are alot of boats out there that are not "offshore" that seem to be doing fine.

I chose my Caliber in part for its underbody that was designed similar to Perrys' Valiants... Keel and all.